JPS6115672A - Sterilization of packaging materials - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:A package material is thoroughly sterilized in high efficiency by effecting germination promotion then killing the germinating spores. CONSTITUTION:A packaging material is coated with an aqueous solution containing germination-promoting substances such as aminoacids or adenosine, when needed, oil and surface active agents. Then, the spores are allowed to germinate, then, the material is coated with an aqueous solution containing a sterillizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide or alcohol and, when needed, having an alkali pH to effect sterilization, while the material is stored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a method for sterilizing packaging materials, and more particularly, to a method for sterilizing packaging materials that can efficiently and satisfactorily sterilize packaging materials.

<Conventional methods and their problems> As is well known, in order to preserve foods for a long period of time, it is necessary to prevent microbial contamination. One method of inactivating or sterilizing microorganisms to enable long-term preservation of foods is to fill or package the contents in containers or packaging materials, such as canned, bottled, or retort foods. There is a method in which the food is sealed and then heat sterilized, and another method is to package the food in an aseptic atmosphere using separately sterilized foods and packaging materials.

Of the latter method, i.e., packaging in a sterile atmosphere using pre-sterilized foods and packaging materials, typical methods for sterilizing packaging materials are as follows (a) to (a) below. .

(a) A method using a chemical such as a hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution (I-I202 aqueous solution).

Sterilization using normal chemicals is not always sufficient, and the reality is that highly concentrated chemicals or heated chemicals are used, so care must be taken when using chemicals. It's a dog. Furthermore, since the conditions in which the chemicals are used are extremely dangerous to humans, sterilization equipment to prevent this is expensive.

(b) Method of using ultraviolet rays When ultraviolet rays are used for sterilization, the sterilizing power is affected by the presence of a shield because the ultraviolet rays are not transparent. In addition, the irradiation intensity of ultraviolet lamps decreases as they are used. As mentioned above, the reliability of sterilization is not necessarily sufficient.

(c) A method using ethylene oxide gas (=EOG).

EOG's sterilizing power is so effective that it is used practically for sterilizing medical products. However, since EOG is a highly toxic gas, it has problems such as the need to be careful about leakage from handling sterilizers and residue in products. Also EC)
'-G sterilizer is a batch type and cannot perform continuous processing.

2) Method using gamma rays Gamma rays have strong sterilizing power, but because they have high energy, they cause chemical changes in packaging materials.

Furthermore, since gamma rays are radiation, the equipment is expensive and must be handled with great care, so it is not an easy sterilization method.

Either method uses chemicals and radiation that are harmful to the human body, so great efforts are made to ensure their safety. One reason why this effort is so necessary is that bacteria attached to packaging materials, such as spore-form bacteria such as Bacillus, are relatively difficult to kill, and therefore require highly concentrated chemicals and high-intensity radiation. There is a particular thing.

<Purpose of the Invention> The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example. Compared to the conventional example, the germination promotion treatment improves the sterilization efficiency and shortens the sterilization time. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for sterilizing packaging materials that can be easily performed by providing a method for sterilizing packaging materials that emphasizes safety and that enables the use of a low concentration of sterilizing agent.

<Summary of the Invention> The present invention is a method for sterilizing packaging materials in which germination promotion treatment is performed to germinate spores, and then sterilization treatment is performed. This is a process to perform storage.

During this storage, the spores are allowed to germinate, and then sterilized. As a sterilization treatment, there is a method of applying an aqueous solution containing a sterilizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide and then storing the product for an appropriate period of time.

<Specific Description of the Invention> The germination promoting treatment according to the present invention can be carried out by applying an aqueous solution containing a germination promoting substance to the surface of the packaging material and storing it.

As the germination promoting substance, amino acids, adenosine, L-alanine, glucose, caramel, etc. can be used. Also, regarding the ratio of dipping into the aqueous solution, it is sufficient as long as it is sterilized. When a disinfectant is applied to the surface of a packaging material for storage, it is preferably less than 10%, and if it exceeds 10%, mold and the like will grow during storage, which is undesirable from a sanitary standpoint.

Oil and fat and a surfactant may be further added to the aqueous solution containing the germination promoting substance. Since the surface of packaging materials is often made of hydrophobic substances such as synthetic resins, by adding fats and oils and surfactants to this aqueous solution, the wettability of this aqueous solution to the packaging material can be improved and it can be applied uniformly. The fat and oil and the surfactant are preferably used in an amount of 01 to 8 parts by weight per 1 part by weight of the surfactant, and preferably mixed into the aqueous solution such that the total amount of both is 01 to 50%. As the oil and fat, biological oils and fats such as No. 11 oil, soybean oil, corn oil, rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, camellia oil, lard, het, cod liver oil, and butter, or liquid paraffin can be used. 11 se 1
A surfactant consisting of a higher fatty acid ester such as a mono-fatty acid ester or a polyglycerin fatty acid ester can be used. Note that, as described later, these oils and fats and fatty acid esters can also be added to an aqueous solution containing a disinfectant, but in this case as well, the usable oils and fats, surfactants, and their blending ratios are the same.

Coating, spraying, dipping, etc. can be used to apply the aqueous solution containing the germination promoting substance to the surface of the packaging material.

After applying the aqueous solution containing the germination promoting substance to the surface of the packaging material, storage for germination is preferably carried out in an environment of 20°C to 40°C for about one day. Regarding the period, if the period is about 5 days or more in an environment of 200C to 40C, microorganisms will proliferate in large quantities, resulting in an unfavorable state for sterilization.

For the sterilization treatment, a conventionally known method using a sterilizing agent such as ultraviolet rays or hydrogen peroxide can be applied.

When using a disinfectant, apply an aqueous solution containing the disinfectant and, if necessary, the above-mentioned oils and fats and surfactants to the packaging material and leave it at room temperature for at least 1 day, preferably for at least 6 days. It is preferable to leave it alone. As a disinfectant,
In addition to hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, saran powder, hypochlorous acid,
Sodium 11um hypochlorite etc. can be used. In addition, if the disinfectant is hydrogen peroxide, an aqueous solution containing this should be added to
Add less than % NaOH or KOH to alkali jl 14
The sterilizing power can be improved by adjusting the amount. 1% or more NaO
When 'OH is added to hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen peroxide decomposes and sufficient sterilizing power cannot be obtained. The aqueous solution containing the disinfectant can be applied to the packaging material by various coating, spraying, dipping, etc. methods.

In this way, sterilization can be carried out by applying an aqueous solution containing a sterilizing agent to the surface of the packaging material and storing it at room temperature for one day or more. After sterilization, 1
This means that food manufacturers need to package and seal the food after more than a day has passed, and no other processes or equipment are required. If you are concerned about residual hydrogen peroxide, you can wash the food packaging straight and dry it with hot air or infrared rays. Furthermore, after washing the food products immediately before packaging, they can be further irradiated with ultraviolet rays just in case, and then dried.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples. In Examples 1, ``Wettability-improving composition'' is a mixture of a surfactant consisting of polymeric fatty acid ester and olive oil in a weight ratio of 1:2.

<Example-1> Polyethylene (60μ) JE (6D, li'A7)/
The following (
Apply the treatments from a) to (f), confirm the decrease in the number of bacteria over time,
I checked the sterilization status. (Table-1) At this time, 106 Bacillus 5ubti1is spores/
10XiOi and AsI)er-gillus ni
105 ger spores/1ox1o7 were coated.

(a) It was rolled up, wrapped in a 100μ polyethylene 100μ packaging material, and stored.

-) After being dip-coated in a 64% aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution, it was rolled up again, packaged in a polyethylene 100μ packaging material, and stored.

p→ Wettability improving composition (PoI) G1) C1) fatty acid ester + olive oil = 1:2)'& 15% added 6
After being dip coated in a 4% aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution, it was rolled up again, packaged in a polyethylene 100μ packaging material, and stored.

After coating by dipping in a 1% glucose aqueous solution, the sample was rolled up again, packaged in a 100 μm polyethylene packaging material, and stored.

(E) After dip-coating in 01% glucose aqueous solution, roll it up again, store it at 50°C for one day, dip-coat it in 34% hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution, roll it up and roll it again into a 100μ polyethylene packaging material. It was packaged and stored by

(f) 01% glucose aqueous solution wettability improving composition (polyglycerate 11-fatty acid ester + olive oil = 1:2)
After adding 15% of
After being stored at 30° C. for one day, it was dip coated in a 54% aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution, rolled up, wrapped in a 100 μm polyethylene packaging material, and stored.

f)) Composition for improving wettability in 0.1% glucose aqueous solution (Bolig 11-11 fatty acid ester + 1st) - Bu oil =
1+2)′? After adding 15% and dip coating, roll it up again, store it at 500C for one day, add 0.5g of Na to a 34% hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution, dip coat it, roll it up and use polyethylene. It was packaged and stored using 100μ packaging material.

(g) 01% glucose aqueous solution wettability improving composition (Polyg 11 serine fatty acid ester - 1st) - Bu oil - 1=
Add 15% of 2), dip coat it, roll it up again, store it at 30°C for one day, dip coat it in a 15% hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution, roll it up and package it in a polyethylene 100μ packaging material. I saved it.

<Effects of the Invention> As shown in the Examples, this is a method for sterilizing packaging materials that improves sterilization efficiency by using a germination promoting substance and also enables lower concentrations of chemicals used. In addition, the method of sterilizing food during storage eliminates the need to use sterilizers in food factories and the like. Furthermore, in implementing the present invention, no special process is required and it can be easily implemented with existing production equipment, etc. Patent applicant Kazuo Suzuki, Representative of Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A method for sterilizing packaging materials in which germination promotion treatment is performed to germinate spores, followed by sterilization treatment. (2) The method for sterilizing packaging materials according to claim (1), wherein the germination promoting treatment comprises applying an aqueous solution containing a germination promoting substance to the surface of the packaging material to cause germination. (3) The method for sterilizing packaging materials according to claim (2), wherein the aqueous solution containing the germination promoting substance further contains oil and fat and a surfactant. (4) Claims (1) to (3) characterized in that the sterilization treatment consists of applying an aqueous solution containing a sterilizer to the packaging material and then storing it and sterilizing it during storage. A method for sterilizing packaging materials according to any of the above. (5) The method for sterilizing packaging materials according to claim (4), wherein the aqueous solution containing the disinfectant is adjusted to be alkaline.